Do You Need Me, As Much As I Need You?
by CheddarFetta
Summary: Kyle is desperate to find his place in the Bay and as a Braxton brother. Rosie is the abandoned teenager, far older than her sixteen years, facing life as becoming a young single mother due to no fault of her own. With both craving the need to be loved and cared for, what happens as their lives collide?
1. Admiration

**New story. Another short, AU H&A fic. With all the pairing swaps so far this year, I found myself REALLY hoping Rosie and Kyle would happen before she left. This is just putting my hopes into a little bit of fruition. Hope there's a few other shippers of this pairing out there interested in the couple too!**

**This will be a little romance fic with two of the Bay's lonelier characters; Sasha, Spencer and the Braxton family will also be quite heavily featured. **

**The story starts shortly after Rosie decides to keep the baby, while Kyle has backed off from Tamara before the amnesia, with him simply trying to develop his connection with his brothers. **

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**Chapter One: Admiration**

Summer Bay wasn't home... Not for Kyle Braxton anyway, unlike all of the other residents that would struggle to move away from the bay-side town if push came to shove. To him, it was a bit like no-man's land.

He was here by force, trying to live a life with brothers whom he felt wouldn't lose any sleep at night if he'd just snuck away. It was the police monitoring his good behavior bond that would be _really_ interested, in that case.

Despite claiming to, Casey hadn't completely moved on from the fact that he had tried to make a move on Tamara, Brax was completely and utterly taken by Ricky and Heath had his own life, his own little family. No one needed Kyle among the Braxton's… But Kyle was never going to tell them how much _he_ needed _them_.

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"I'll have one large hot chocolate and the BIGGEST piece of chocolate mud cake you have please, Irene!"

Alongside her in the line, Kyle let out a chuckle from reflex at the younger girl's order. It was a rare occasion when he would see a girl honestly ordering what she wanted, especially with such an enthusiasm. For a coastal town, he was used to seeing thought-bubbles containing bikini's hanging over young women's heads as they reluctantly ordered salads or sandwiches.

"Hey, if I'm going to get fat over the next few months, I figure that I might as well enjoy doing it!" Rosie snapped defensively to Kyle next to her, having heard the noise that signaled amusement escape from his mouth.

"What? There's nothing wrong with it, I just think that's a very good attitude to have. You know; life's lemons…."

Rosie nodded enthusiastically, exclaiming a little too loudly: "Yep! I'm making lemonade!"

"Somebody's chirpy…" Kyle added, to only be heard by Rosie's foster mother as the sixteen year old became distracted by the large brown shape Irene presented on the counter. "Yes, you could say that. She just had a doctor's appointment. She's a touch on the excited side that she could hear the baby's heartbeat."

"That's cool" Kyle smiled, before making a brief conversation as he received the takeaway bag across the counter from Irene, sufficiently supplied with carbohydrates and protein foods to fill his brother's stomachs for a few hours at least. "Everything else going well with the pregnancy?"

Rosie's head bounced up and down enthusiastically in the form of a nod. "Sure is! My baby's growing well and he or she is about as big as that logo on the coffee machine there" Rosie beamed proudly and positively.

From the teen's attitude, a passerby would never have been able to identify the trauma that had occurred at the source of the blonde's unborn child. If Kyle hadn't of known better, he admired the fact that he too would have thought that Rosie was ticking a strange lifelong achievement for a teenager off her list by the way she was discussing her baby.

"Anyway, I gotta go before the grub gets cold" Kyle explained to the two women gesturing to the bag, with a nod of his head. "See you around."

The caramel-haired individual had barely exited the dining establishment before Rosie's foster mother began discussing the young Braxton. "What is his name, Rosie?"

"Kyle. Kyle Braxton" she answered as she picked up her mug of hot chocolate in one hand and her plate with the other as her thoughts trailed off. "That's quite a nice name, actually. I might write it down on my baby name list."

Rosie's foster mother's interest was affected by Kyle's surname and a disapproving scowl suddenly tainted her impression of the man she had not initially minded. "Oh. Is he one of those River Boys? Being notorious for all the wrong reasons?"

"Oh no, no. He was never a River Boy. Kyle's only the half-brother of those Braxton. He was the one who kidnapped Casey, left him for dead" Rosie explained with the intention of counteracting the opinion and stigma of the locals, but failing miserably at doing so as she explained slightly too much of the background which her best friend Sasha had explained to her.

Rosie's foster mother twitched at the abnormality that Rosie uttered without a twitch or second thought, her response thoroughly drenched in sarcasm. "Oh really? Even better…"

"He's kind of cute, actually. I like the puppy-dog eyes" Rosie added as the two found a seat, giggling over the comment and encounter of minutes earlier, before the conversation drifted back over to the very topical matter of Rosie's baby that had been of high frequency occurrences recently.

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**So, not sure how long this will be, it's just going to depend on interest and inspiration! Anyone else as interested as I am? I enjoy starting new stories WAY more than I should! Also, the third person perspective was just to get this story rolling, and knowing my comfort for writing first-person, I will probably switch back over to that soon.**


	2. Generosity

**Huge, huge, massive thank you to everyone that read and reviewed the first chapter. I am gobsmacked that for a new story, the first chapter got TEN reviews, THANK YOU! I've tried to make this one longer to show my appreciation for your support! :)**

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**Chapter Two: Generosity**

_Rosie's POV: _

For a Friday, today had absolutely sucked.

Starting the day off with my least favourite lesson had turned out to be just the sort of start that I did not need. My luck increased even further as I felt the familiar waves of nausea stirring threateningly in the pit of my stomach while the back of my throat constricted uncomfortably.

"Mr MacGuire? May I please be excused?" Zac was one of my teachers who, as many had been, had been completely understanding and adaptable since the news of my pregnancy had been publicized and broadcast throughout the school.

My English teacher simply nodded his head at me, with a look of concern. As I hurried out of the classroom, I noticed from the corner of my eye to my right, two hands shooting up from behind me.

"Can I please go with her?" I heard as the familiar voices of both Sasha and Spencer asked the same question in synchronization. I never heard my teacher's reply, but after two hands of support reached my back seconds later, I never needed to hear it to know his answer.

"Are you okay?" Sasha asked me first, looking deep into my eyes with concern, while I felt the circles Spencer was rubbing on my back as he offered his own question of care. "Do you want us to take you home or can you stick it out?"

Before I could answer my friends, all of my reflexes worked together for a swift, coordinated motion as I darted to the bathroom.

* * *

As I left the bathroom, satisfied that the nausea had passed enough for me to make a public appearance once again, Sasha and I joined Spencer who was guarding our school bags while he waited in the corridor by our lockers.

"Feeling better?"

I tried to nod in response to his question, but the gesture only translated to a more honest expression of a shrug. "Not so sick, just a bit rotten."

Since returning from the bathroom, I had not noticed that it was lesson changeover time and I also hadn't seen the extra school kids roaming around the hallways en-route to their next lessons. I additionally had not seen my English teacher whose class I had walked out of fifteen minutes earlier already approaching my friends and I, obviously in hearing range as I answered Spencer's last question.

"I was just about to check up on you, see how you are feeling. If you're still not feeling well, maybe you should take a gentle walk to the beach and just get some air or something?" Zac suggested. He obviously had the ability to read my mind and thoughts as he addressed the matter of truancy that was in the back of my mind. "I can email your next teacher if you want, let them know what's going on and that I told you to."

I nodded at the teacher's question, noticing the grimace forming on my best friend who had accompanied me to the bathroom's face. "I would go with you Rosie, but I have a summative math's test next. I won't be allowed to re-sit it if I miss it…"

"Rosie and I both have history next, I can go with her, Sash" Spencer reassured. "As long as that is okay with you, Mr MacGuire..." We all knew the answer to his question, before our teacher even had a chance to reply to it.

"Of course. Just take care of her. I'll include you in the email too then, Spencer. Also, Rosie, maybe you should talk to Miss Scott about taking the mornings off as home study periods in case you're sick. You might be able to arrange for lunchtime sessions or a tutor to help you catch up on what you miss. You're doing well just even trying to stick it out at school, Rosie."

I appreciated Mr MacGuire's help and support, but all of the suggestions and changes were becoming increasingly overwhelming. All I wanted was to get out of the noisy school halls and into the fresh air.

"Okay, I'll think about it, thanks" I replied, before quickly saying goodbye to my teacher and friend as my tall brunette friend followed me out of the school.

* * *

As Spencer and I slowly trailed along the paths from Summer Bay High School into town, we eventually reached the Pier Diner. Spencer had taken a leaf out of his father's medical book and concluded that I needed some fruit and some water to keep my liquids and blood sugar levels up.

"I'll be back in a second, it's probably best for you to stay out here in case the smell of food in the Diner sets you off again. Just wait here. " Spencer informed me, gesturing to the bench overlooking the water as he made his way into the diner.

_Kyle's POV_

I was the delegated delivery guy for my families breakfasts this morning, having been pushed out the door by Heath to collect his two serves of bacon and eggs, Casey's pancakes and Brax's breakfast burger from the Diner this morning.

I had almost reached my destination, when I saw the sight of an out of place school dress on a bench by the water. I looked down to my watch, realizing that 10 am was definitely within school hours. Had it of been anyone else, I would have automatically assumed it was the case of a typical teenager wagging school. However, noticing that it was Rosie Pritchard resulted in a surpassed assumption that she wasn't just skipping classes for the sake of it.

"Rosie? Are you alright? Why aren't you in school?" I questioned, walking closer to the schoolgirl instead of my destination that would have only been a hundred metres away in the different direction.

"Oh I'm not wagging, Kyle! I promise! Check with Mr MacGuire, I mean Zac. He can vouch for me!" The girl who had been sitting peacefully on the bench as she looked out on the water was suddenly set into a state of panic from my questions.

It was only as I had neared her that I had realized the pale tone to her skin. She looked washed out, she looked tired and now she looked scared witless from the questions that she had translated as me accusing her of wagging. It was my job to calm down the teenager _I_ had unsettled.

"I didn't mean it like that, don't worry" I said, attempting to reassure her as I took the seat next to her in a non-threatening manner and as a friendly gesture. "I didn't think you would be wagging; so I'm not going to dob on you. I just wanted to check that you were okay."

"Oh. Right. Yeah, I'm okay… I just had a bit of morning sickness so I went for a walk with Spencer. He's getting me something to eat from the Diner now. What about you? Why are you here so early in the morning? I thought Braxton's either lived at the beach or in bed."

"I think you mean _River Boys_. I've just got the Braxton last name…"

Rosie cringed from next to me and I noticed that she had settled down to the extent of looking as calm as she had before I interrupted her. "Sorry… I more than anyone should be understanding of stereotypes. Is it hard getting that Braxton brother label?"

"I'm getting used to it" I replied simply with a shrug.

It was only a few minutes later that we were in a deep conversation when Rosie's friend and companion returned from inside the Diner where my brother's food orders would be growing colder and colder, much to their likely disgust. Spencer gave me the once-over warily and I could see his concern and the care for Rosie in his eyes, as he passed her a banana, fresh juice and bottle of water to her.

I sensed that Spencer was not overly keen on my presence and as soon as Rosie took a breath, I seized the rare moment of being able to intervene her speaking rampage. "I better let you get back to school and pick up the boy's food before it gets too cold" I quickly added, to receive an approving nod from Spencer.

"Hope you feel better, Rosie. I'll see you around" I stated as a goodbye to the two. As I walked over to the Diner, I could hear from the direction behind me that Rosie was quickly engaged in conversation with Spencer again. However, if it wasn't for him, I had the feeling that we would have kept talking for far longer than we did.

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**Now, compared to my other stories, I haven't done much planning for this one, so if you have any ideas, let me know! I am very open to suggestions for this one! I'll try to work them in with the storyline if they fits the bits and pieces I do have planned :)**

**Next chapter: Bianca pushes Kyle to volunteer himself to Rosie.**


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